By now, talking about the popularity of sneakers seems redundant. This humble and functional footwear has steadily moved from the underground scene to the forefront of fashion and popular culture.
From sought-after brand collaborations to fashion houses’ high-brow iterations, to the underrated gems found off-the-shelf of shopping malls, there is a sneaker on every corner and price point. Following a strong decade when it comes to sales and cultural impact, it is exciting to see how sneakers and the global sneaker community would further its reach in the coming years.
In the Philippines, the sneaker market and its parallel sneaker community have grown as one of the most interesting communities in this region. Propelled by enthusiasts, basketball fans, and laymen who just like the practicality, the local sneaker market is riding on a high.
Photographer — Regine David
Late last year, the Jordan Brand opened in Bonifacio Global City, bringing in the legendary brand’s first flagship store in Southeast Asia. This attests to the vitality of the Filipino sneaker subculture that is only getting more and more popular as time marches forward.
Within the growing circle of sneaker enthusiasts and experts, there are people whom many refer to as cornerstones of this community. One of the prominent figures of the local sneaker community is Martin David, better known for his sneaker media platform Sole Movement. From one sneaker release to another and from one sneaker trade show to the next, he established a name in cultural journalism. Martin and his platform have chronicled monumental drops, collaborations, and cultural events over the decades including the highly-coveted Air Jordan IV “Manila”.
While Martin David and his platform are in the status of prominence, he kept the discussion with us strictly within the topic of the local sneaker scene and Sole Movement. His modesty and fondness for being behind the scenes are prevalent in our short chat with him. We talked about Sole Movement, the early decades of the sneaker scene, the sneaker scene now, and where it is headed.
A Grassroots Movement
The Philippines’ growing sneaker scene is led by a basketball-savvy crowd and a niche circle of sneaker aficionados collecting high-ticket releases. It has been this way since the early days, only in a more informal and less conspicuous manner. “It was pretty much a community that lives on forums,” Martin alludes when talking about the sneaker scene when he started Sole Movement.
He started Sole Movement in the mid-2000’s equipped with his love for sneakers and nostalgia in the 90s pop culture. “…The kids that grew up in that age [90s], I’d like to think that we have a good foundation on what makes a good sneaker,” Martin shared. “Everybody in that circle realized that there is more to sneakers than just basketball or whatever it was intended to be. [Then] the classics started to get more popular–the Jordans, Air Force 1s, and Dunks came out again.”
The 2000s marked the fledgling of the sneaker scene in the country. Rarer versions of classic sneakers were coming to the local market and this is where Martin David saw the need for a resource that produce news and features about the sneaker community, “I personally wanted to make people realize you don’t have to go around and buy your stuff elsewhere [abroad], they’re coming in.”
Martin candidly shared that he launched Sole Movement as a fan of sneakers. Coming from a place of love, he wanted to be at the front row seats when major releases came in and when groundbreaking sneaker collaborations and news were announced. Slowly and steadily, he found himself being at every sneaker-related event. “No one knew where to go. Back then, WeLegendary started, Nike Park was getting products, there were small stores that [had] kicks that nobody had, so that became a start for me,” share Martin. “All I had to do was drop by a store, talk to the guys at the store, spark a friendship, understand what they are doing about, and feature them. That’s how it started, it was my way of helping the community.”
At that time, for enthusiasts to get the hottest sneakers, they had to ask their relatives overseas for favors and have the kicks delivered in a balikbayan box.
They Heard Us, Now They Have To Listen
As the Philippines become part of the global conversation in sneakers, there are exclusives that grace boutiques within its shores. Some were received better than the others but the general tone of the conversation points to the fact that we are cultivating a reputation for being a key market in the panoramic landscape of this region.
From this year’s LeBron 17 Low “TITAN” and Quiccs’ Forum Low to last year’s head turning Commonwealth x adidas Response CL and dozens of collaborations that have come before, the Philippine market is keen on a unique taste that the overseas market can’t help but notice.
“Have you ever heard of the sentiment that Filipinos are very trendy?” Martin posited to us when he’s recalling all those blockbuster collaborations that he chronicled painstakingly on Sole Movement. Filipinos understand trends and we have a good feeling on what we want as consumers.
Despite the abundance of sneaker collaborations, there still feels a disconnect in having sneakers as a personification of our own culture, values, and worldview. Unlike the sneaker communities in Japan, Great Britain, Australia, and other countries, the Philippines seems to lack that distinction when onlookers observe the landscape from afar. And it has to change for the benefit of Filipino designers and consumers alike.
“It takes a sneaker brand with [the help of] a local brand keeping on who they are.” Martin shared.
The repetitive cookie-cutter themes of flag colors, jeepney motif, and the like have occupied enough shelf space in sneaker stores. Now it’s time for genuine and authentic stories told from the perspective of Filipino designers to take center stage when it comes to collaborations.
Martin and the rest of the sneaker community look in the same direction in the future of the Philippine sneaker market and yearn on the same belief that we are not a lesser of our counterparts.
When the glory of that era comes, Martin and Sole Movement will surely be there to tell that story.
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